MXR M102 Dyna Comp Compressor Pedal Reviews

I left a poor review for this device (titled: why it went in the trash). I discovered the Dyna Comp just didn't play well with my Morgan fuzz. Fuzz pedals have their own bizarre impedances and old circuits and therefore don't often compliment other pedals in terms of clarity (as I've learned). Pulled the fuzz and auditioned just the compressor and everything is great - pedal clear and functional bypassed or not and doing the simple function comps do. Admin please feel free to delete my previous 1 star review.

Only wish I had bought the smaller version.

Been looking for a compressor for a long time. Tried many. This one fits the bill perfectly!

Amazing pedal! Does exactly what it needs to do. I set it at 2 and 10 and it stays on most of the time!

This is my second Dyna Comp. I bought my first one back in the 80's. This is a "must" effect for your pedalboard! Cuts through and adds that needed edge especially when playing solos. Still in love with it after all these years.

Just what I wanted

Really good compressor.

I mostly use this for my Rhodes keyboard, which unless set up *perfectly*, will always have a few notes louder than the others. This helps keep the volumes predictable and fattens up the sound a bit. Great tool.

This pedal is fantastic. It is essential for dialing in that perfectly golden clean tone. It is also a great addition to distortion tones, giving that extra sharpness and punchiness. Highly recommended.

Really enjoying the MXR Dyna Comp! Aiming for that U2 Joshua Tree & Andy Summers guitar compression and this pedal nails it. I play direct at church as well through a tech21 sans amp and this ensures a very consistent volume level to the board. Super helpful!

Whether your playing Police, Floyd, blues licks or looking for that Nashville sound this compressor is for you. It sounds great through clean channel and overdrive channel and also works well with most effects pedal applications. The service excellent and the sales people are friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful.i like this pedal and is a great addition to my arsenal!!

I was very pleasantly surprised with this compressor. It's able to retain clarity in the highs with only two controls. It makes sense that it's a legend in this category.

Tele has some serious "twang" with this pedal.

It’s the sound heard on so many records! There are plenty of great compressors out there today, but few actually have a unique sound that is so recognizable as this pedal has! In addition, this is a great compressor that is easy to dial-in quickly. It plays nicely with about every pedal you place it in front of and I find it to push/stack with drive pedals beautifully! The price of this pedal also makes it easily attainable. Buy it, you won’t be sorry!

I am a guitar child of the 80s. A such I had racks of gear and always lived the clean tones I got from them.

When the 90s hit and I trended with everyone else and sold all of that stuff, I always missed my clean tone from that time. I don't know why but it finally dawned on me that I was missing my compression.

On a whim I tried the Dyna Comp and it brought me back to that sound. It has been on my board ever since and STAYS on.

If you set it right, you still get that sparkling "Nashville" clean tone, but it will also ENHANCE your overdrive/,distorted tones.

It's just two knobs, but they are absolutely effective. I set mine like Gilmour; output at 2:00 and sustain at 10-11:00

I owned one of these in the 90's. Sold all of my pedal years ago, I started playing recently again. My sound was missing something. I picked up a used one and received it yesterday. It was brand new. Plugged it in,and it was exactly what my sound was missing. Clean sparkly chicken picken notes on a tele to sustain for days on a les paul custom. The pedal gives the oomph you need, without cranking up to ten. Its brings the highs down,and brings the lows up,and gives it a clean sharp tone.

This cleaned up my sound a lot. It was one of the best purchases & it delivered to me quickly.

I love this pedal. It is exactly what I needed for the price. Pretty much a pedal that I keep on the whole time I play. Simple and sound good.

Great service - Mac Hatton shipped this order so I could enjoy it on my days off - Thank you!!!

I've used a lot of different pedals over the years but never really used MXR products. Not really sure why, but I've recently become a BIG fan of MXR pedals!

I've been playing for many years, play multiple instruments, and have played small gigs to large venues. Like everyone else I'm always looking for gear that will help me create the sounds I hear in my head. And, let's face it new toys are fun and inspire new ideas!! I play various styles of music but grew up musically playing classic rock and country - a child of the 70's.

MXR M102 Dyna Comp: this compressor pedal is unique with a sound all it's own, and different (in a really good way) from other compressor pedals. I own both a Boss CS-3 and a Wampler Ego both great pedals and I use them on other pedalboards, but they don't do what this pedal does. When you stomp on this you'll know it because the sound is unmistakable. IMO, if you play country "chicken pickin" this pedal is a must have because it adds that snap, pop, and sustain you most likely are missing. It also adds a lot to my clean sound and does rock very well. Don't know why I waited so long to purchase this pedal.

SWEETWATER SERVICE is 2nd to NONE
I have been working with Mac Hatton, my Sweetwater rep, for about 10+ years now. And, have to say I couldn't be happier! Mac is an incredibly knowledgeable Sales Engineer with a background working in Nashville recording studios - how cool! Plus, he's just an all around great guy who has had my best interest in mind with every purchase, and he's always looking for ways to help me get the gear I need. Even the smallest order Mac treats you like you are his number one customer. The service I have received from Mac and Sweetwater is absolutely the best in the business and I've worked with a lot of different people and companies over the last 40+ years of buying music gear. I could share stories of how Sweetwater has gone above and beyond for me, but please take my word on this, Mac and Sweetwater earned my business and they will yours too!!

There"s a reason so many artists use this pedal ( Bonnie Raitt David Gilmour and Lowell George to name a few) and that"s because it works great, it"s built like a tank and it"s very affordable as far as decent pedals go. This was a replacement, but the last one was over twenty years old maybe even thirty and it just let up. It"s cheaper than a repair! Once again I can"t say how much I enjoy working with Dave YOU DA MAN Snow and the whole Sweetwater team. You guys rock!!!

As the title suggests, this pedal is the best at what it does. As I understand it, it's an industry standard in the Nashville scene. As an alt-rock/dream-pop sort of guitar player myself, I can't speak to its usefulness for country music, but I can say that it gives clean tones an extra spank, and pairs very well with my other pedals. This thing combined with a chorus and some delay is a thing of beauty, with nice shimmering tones. I've played around with a few other compressors, and none quite do what this thing does. It's not a pedal for subtle compression; the effect is definitely noticeable. That said, if you like 'that' sound, accept no substitutes.

For awesome 12-string electric sound I went through several compressors including a very expensive hand-wired Byrds Special -- with disappointing results. Well, finally a fellow musician told me to try this one -- I was skeptical but I did and I was totally blown-away. I found the Holy Grail which would give my 12 string Gretsch incredible sustain and that awesome RIC chime of Roger McGuinn and George Harrison. It was SO simple - not lots of knobs. Set the output at 3 o'clock and the sensitivity at Noon and you pick-up all 12 strings with tons of sustain. MAGIC! I wish I had tried it years ago. Thanks, Sweetwater, for giving me the sound I always sought.

Sweet comp here folks. Classic for a reason. I was always a Boss pedal man, and still use them. However, this pedal and the Phase 90 have ,ace me a huge fan of MXR pedals now too! You won't be disappointed with the Adana-Comp!

Excellent addition to the gear,needed a little more sustain,and to even out the tones, did just that. Always been a fan of the mxr product line. Great stuff

I play Red Dirt, and you can't beat a good ol' dyna comp for that twangy stuff, man. Maybe the script version is a little better, I don't know...I just know this pedal sounds really great, and I'm a full on tone Nazi. dial in anything from subtle compression to about as much snap as you would ever want...I run it at about 12 o clock generally...3 o clock for hybrid picking. American Standard Tele, 65 Deluxe Reverb...country sound til the cows come home, baby!

If you're looking to get that authentic Nashville or Texas Country sound, look no further. The Dyna Comp is where it's at. Great pedal, and very affordable. #twangfordays

Best buy in this type of peddle out there, if your looking for that country music twangy thing then you hit the Jack pot this peddle is that and a whole lot more, I have a lot of differant guitars and this peddle sounds differant on each one this is the one peddle you will always have use for its kinda like finding the ultimate wah wah you will almost always have a purpose for this one! Buy it you know you want it!

I love this Comp pedal. It's the real deal. Forget the cheaper brands and models. Get this one and be done.

Sweetwater is the best company to buy from. There service is second to none, if you have an issue.

Amazing pedal. It really changes the dynamics of things. WOW! I now know where the Tele Twang really comes from... Call Tyler Moore, and tell him to get you one of these on the way.

I am kind of a beginner when it comes to pedals. I am still trying some different ones out to see what I like. What I do know is when I turn this pedal on I get a nice clean tone that I was looking for. Very satisfied. Plus the price was very reasonable and the online reviews were very favorable. It may not have all the bells and whistles as some of them but it does a good job for me and my bedroom concerts.

I can see why this is used a lot in studios. It makes for a nice lead boost and really increases the sustain on your notes. I was impressed with the warmth that it has. it does not suck any of the tone and really accentuates it. I was quite impressed with it and wish that i had bought one sooner.

This great compression pedal takes me directly to 1985. I've been able to get exactly the sound I was looking for. Anybody know where my parachute pants are?

I am glad to see this pedal once again. This is the finest compressor pedal I have ever used especially for Clean sounds. I found the sound quality of this pedal very impressive. It is so creamy, punchy and extremely warm with so much dynamic compression quality. It has a very simple operation but sound is beautifully complex one. As far as its build quality is concerned it is like concrete. I have used it for both humbuckers and single coil pickups and it responds equally great. I wish it might have a tone control & furthermore it has a fixed Attack time but still I found it fulfilling all my requirements beautifully. For Clean sound I give it all 5 points.

It's perfect during solos for going over the top picking country or blues. It pushes my tube amp well. I prefer this over other transparent compressors. There is something special about the dyna comp.

Compared to the boss CS-3 compression I think this is a far superior pedal. It is much simpler to use with two knobs versus four knobs and does not change the tone of your guitar in terms of treble and bass when you turn it off and on.

Too many compressors out there with too many knobs and internal dip switches, and I could never really hear that much difference when changing them around to really warrant all that stuff. This on the other hand has all it needs, 2 knobs does it, quick and easy to find a sound you like. Keeps those Telecaster highs under control. Reminds me of the original one I had back in the 70's. Simple to set, and also a pretty good price.I like it!

Easy to run, easy to set up, just gotta figure out where you want it in your chain. I put mine before the distortion or drive in my board, and it made a world of difference. Just takes some tinkering to get it right. But definitely worth it In my opinion.

I used one of these for years until the switch went bad. Decided to try the Boss version, enthralled with all of the extra controls. Wrong decision. Didn't take long to bring me back to the MXR Dyna Comp. I just purchased a new one and love it.

Classic pedal for a good price. Worked perfectly straight out of the box. Helped me get the tone I was looking for. Thanks Sweetwater for great customer service!

I had recently heard a great guitarist at a coffee shop with an amazing tone. He attributed it all to a classic compressor (having a Fender Twin and a Gibson 335 didn't hurt). I went ahead and bought the MXR DynaComp thinking that it would be a good choice after reading several reviews. I am totally blown away. I am able to get sounds out of my Les Paul Black Beauty that I thought were only possible by purchasing a completely different guitar. This one pedal turned my already great tone (Blues Jr with Les Paul) into unbelievable tone. If I had any idea I would have bought this a long time ago!

I'm using this for bass. This is a very good compressor for the cash. It's extremely quiet--only adds a very slight hiss, but that's (in my experience) fairly unavoidable unless you really shell out some bucks. If you squash the high dynamics and raise the low dynamics, you get some noise. But it's FAR less noisy than other ones. I docked it half a star only because it kills a little bit of the attack, and it takes a perceptible instant to kick in on your first note. But these are small things, and I'm keeping mine.

Simple design. Simple functionality. Great for gain staging. Great for upping tone and sustain. Great price.

Simple, easy to use compressor, I use it as an always on "effect"/ tone shaper and it does that job just fine.

At first it was like, "what does this thing even do"? Upon further review, I find it really cleans things up! Tames the sound it what it does. Notes are more spot on...I like it....looking for that country twang from my tele though, haven't got there yet

My Dyno comp pedal surprised me a bit... it works well with a phase and wah pedal... unique sustain makes it a worthy adversary.. and a pleasure to own

Chicken picking right out of the box. Nothing but a cord and the licks required. All the twang and spank for country plank. It works for some David Gilmour/Pink Floyd stuff too.

Just not tbe sustain we craved, but virtuoso 12 yr old son makes it work. Sweetwater rocks!

Stays on. Whether I'm clean or dirty. When I want some country spank I dial the compression a bit more. Simple. That's what I love most about it.

Simple and effective...better than any other compressor I've tried.

It's got the sound I was looking for. Works for me.

If you're considering a compressor pedal, this is the one

I got caught up in the new "Studio" compressors in pedal form, and forgot all about this one. I didn't like these other compressors with humbuckers or distortion. I bought one of these on a whim, and I'm glad I did. It has a warmer, less sterile sound. It sits in front of my gain pedals, and makes them more effective. I love it with Humbuckers and a bit (or a lot) of gain. It's simple to use too. Set the output where you like, and adjust the sensitivity so it engages just where it's effective. That's it, nothing else to do. It's still built like a tank and it's priced right too. Highly recommended.

Toured with one of these in the 80's - Still built like a tank and remarkably sensitive with single coils. Great price/service too.

I bought this pedal originally to add more clarity to big chords with distortion and to get a really nice pick attack for neck position clean sounds. At first I was having a lot of trouble with the controls (probably just overthinking it), but after a few hours of putting it in different places and trying out different settings, I am really happy with it, it does exactly what I need it to and really adds clarity, this pedal almost always stays on in my rig. No problems with it, unless you don't want to take the time to set it up right.

Just two controls - easy to setup. It can effectively level the signal before your recorder, while creating some nice attack and sustain characteristics. For me, it works great on clean or just-slightly-overdriven electric guitar parts and for rock bass sounds. For the price you can't go wrong.

This compressor is a one control knob jobber with output control. It will do compression best with a light touch, otherwise it pumps a bit.

If you're looking for more control this may not be for you but for a quick set live pedal it works great for that "Nashville Sound".

Be sure to find the right spot in your signal chain first though.

Those of you thinking about buying either a Dyna Comp or the Janglebox for you live 12 string sound should buy the Dyna Comp. The Janglebox is great for studio or if you're McGuinn who has a horde of sound support and stage people... but for on stage in the clubs you can't beat the Dyna Comp for 12 string. I own a Janglebox and did everything with it for a year, not satisfied with the sound. Got my Dyna Comp today and instat: 'problem solved'. Dyna has a single compression and volume. Jangle box tweeks between volume and compression... more compression, odd volume level, more/less volume is weird compression ration. Dyna Comp is your bread and butter solution. Done. Buy it if your thinking about 12 string for the clubs.

The compression sound was good, but the pedal has a terrible buzz when engaged. There wasn't really a way to get around the buzz though, and it just got worse when overdrives were engaged. I wouldn't recommend this pedal simply for that reason.

Compresses like a ton of bricks. Noisy switch. Leave it on or leave it off.

This pedal does add some sustain. It sounds okay. I just feel the increase in sustain it provides is not worth the amount of noise it adds. I was a little disappointed. I thought it would sound better.

This is a terrible pedal. It totally squashes your signal. It's very noisy. Absolutely no sustain,didn't notice any difference at all. Volume issues.